“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." - Lamentations 3:25-26

"I See You"

Christmas has a lot of meaning in our world, and it means different things for different people. There is the fun of the Christmas "spirit" with the giving and receiving of gifts, the childlike imagination of Santa Claus, the quiet and dark of the season where the stars shine so brightly on a cold night. And of course for the Christian, it is the celebration of promise fulfilled in the babe in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ.

Regardless of where you are on this spirit and spiritual spectrum, one thing that is probably most powerful for people around the globe is the importance of belonging and impact of family and of community. If you have or have had that strong sense of family and community, I praise God with you! I pray that family remains strong and moments filled with joy. I have come from one of those families, imperfect, but mine, and one that I have been grateful.

And yet this time of year is also one filled with quite a bit of stress, but probably more than that - loneliness.

My hunch is that loneliness at Christmas brings to many of us the illusion of perfection, one that just doesn't exist in families, even with the first one with Adam and Eve. There is regret for sins left unconfessed and unforgiven. There is the chair that now sits empty that was once filled with the love that we miss so dearly. There is the distance that separates loved ones and a nostalgia that we long for. And there is also the joy that comes that we so dearly enjoy and so desperately want to hold onto. For these and other reasons, Christmas is also a very lonely time of year for many people. And for some of us, we may wonder if anyone sees us.

This Christmas, as we've shared concerts talking about the characters and story of the Nativity, there is one idea that has been quietly growing in my heart and that is this. That baby in the manger is God almighty saying to you and to me "I SEE YOU"!

In the garden, God saw Adam and Eve in their nakedness, having broken relationship with God and with each other launching all mankind into a holy and spiritual deficit that we can't recover from on our own. But in that moment, God said effectively "I See You". He covered their nakedness and promised one to come that would crush the enemy.

In the Old Testament, God says to the captives in Babylon "I See You". Sin has carried you into captivity, but I will be with you and when the time has been completed I will restore you.

To the small of Bethlehem, God says "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” - Though you are small, I SEE YOU, the restoration will come!

And in the manger of Bethlehem, the virgin gives birth to her first born, a son, calling him Emmanuel - that "God With Us" would save his people. God in human flesh cries out and in effect the voice of God now speaks "I See You".

In the Upper room Jesus will say "Take and Eat, Take and Drink" this is FOR YOU, because I see you. On the cross he will say "It is FINISHED" and in the Garden he will look at a broken believer who is desperate to find the body of her Lord and say to her "Mary".

For all of the lonely, the broken, and those who feel shattered, the manger in Bethlehem reminds you and me that God Sees YOU, God sees US! And as the angels sing and shout "GLORY" "GO and SEE", our hearts pound just a little harder. The edge of hard memories softens. Our social status no longer matters, what we've done and left undone stops for a moment for you and I to go and peer into the manger and see God staring back at you and me... "I SEE YOU"

Yes, it is good to wait quietly for the Salvation of our Lord!

May you have a full and Merry Christmas! God Sees You, You are not alone!

My team and I, along with our financial and prayer partners, have worked hard to prepare a place for college students, young professionals, and young adult leaders to come together for encouragement, inspiration, and Christian community this January 4th and 5th.

How can you support young men and women in their walk with Jesus? How can you invest in your leadership of young adults?

It would mean the world to me, if you would share the information and invitation to this event for the young adults that you care for and love. I'd ask you to consider investing in a ticket for a young adult at your church to attend. I would ask you to pray for the event, the speakers, leaders and young men and women who do come.

Awake and Alive is just one of many ministries God is using to inspire the church to walk with 18-25 year olds, but we hope you will consider making an investment in the lives of young people with us.

It's not a traditional Christmas song, but in light of Christ's coming to call all of us to be adopted into HIS family, this song captures both the reality that God sees YOU and that he then gives us eyes to see OTHERS who need to know they have a place in God's family as well. We hope you'll view or download the song and share it with others this Christmas season!

I had a chance to connect with David Finn a little bit over the past couple months, and they are proud to announce the release of their new album "Champions"! David describes the album this way "Champions is a concept album which incorporates many different musical colors to tell a story of hope and redemption for the falling ones. Through faith in Christ, we are all champions over sin, death, and the powers of evil."

David is working through a full life including back to school so this is no small accomplishment!

I hope you'll check them out at their Facebook page where you can find some of the videos from their singles (very nice video work too!) and you can learn where you can pick up the album and find out a bit more about where they are and how to reach out to them. Congratulations His Witness and Merry Christmas!

A Day in the Life...

Just a sneak peek on what we've been up to this month.

Top Row (L to R): 1. The Show Dome for the Mitchell Park Domes is in seasonal display! 2. This year, we decided to deck the trees in blue and green (thank you LED bulbs!) 3. Thanksgiving with the whole family on Melissa's side, a joy!

Mid Row: 1. Abby's painting for WISCO's Alumni Christmas Card for 2018 2. Abby and I at the summit of Picacho Peak in AZ 3. Concert at Grace Lutheran in Tucson (also at Lamb of God in PHX one more time)

Bot Row: 1. Family Christmas celebration with For King and Country! 2. "One Night in Bethlehem" with the Reflections Choir at Mt. Calvary in Waukesha 3. And yes, I turned 45 on the 19th! I ain't old yet ;)

If you'd like to have us share some live music in concert or worship, we would love to bring some to you!